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Indonesian police confirm three terror suspects killed near Jakarta

09 March 2010 18:30 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Unclear whether Dulmatin, one of the most-wanted leaders of the Jemaah Islamiyah militant group, among the dead, APA reports quoting â€œThe Voice of Americaâ€
Indonesian police say three terrorism suspects have been killed in raids outside the capital, Jakarta. But they did not confirm news reports that Dulmatin, one of the country’s most wanted men who allegedly played a role in the 2002 Bali bombing, was among them.

National Police spokesman Edward Aritonang confirmed Tuesday that anti-terrorism forces conducted two raids in Pamulang city on the outskirts of Jakarta. He says in the first raid two suspects were captured but one suspect resisted arrest and was killed by police.

He says the man, carrying a revolver, fired once at a police officer who returned fire and shot him.

Dulmatin, a top leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah militant group, is suspected of being a bomb-making specialist trained by al-Qaeda. The United States is offerring a $10 million reward for him.

He is accused of helping plan the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people on the Indonesian resort island, most of them foreign tourists. Aritonang says police will announce the man’s identity once they are sure.

He also said that during the second raid, police shot and killed two suspects on a motorcycle. They had been fleeing police and one was firing a gun.

Aritonang said the raids were based on information gleaned from 16 suspects arrested in the Indonesian province of Aceh. Since February 22, police have conducted a series of raids on a suspected Jemaah Islamiyah cell that was operating a militant training facility.

He says their role may be bigger but based on the evidence police have so far the dead men were supplying weapons and funding.

Jemaah Islamiyah is a Southeast Asian extremist group inspired by al-Qaeda. Its goal is to unite the Muslim-dominated countries in the region into an Islamic state.

JI and other terrorist groups have carried out more than 50 bombings in Indonesia since April 1999, according to the International Crisis Group.

The most recent attacks in Indonesia killed seven people and two suicide bombers in two luxury hotels in Jakarta last July.